Well, this is every little girl’s dream – not only that, mum wants a full-sized version (when someone designs it)!  I bought this for my six year old niece’s birthday and the attention to detail throughout the townhouse is superb.  From its own elevator to the whirlpool tub in the outside spa area, nothing has been missed out.

My little niece loved the working elevator and the kitchen which even has a fridge which lights up – in fact there are lights and various sounds throughout the house and it even has a flushing toilet!  It has been really good to hear my niece talking to her Barbie doll and telling her what she is going to do next – “after you’ve had dinner, you can go in the hot tub before watching TV”.  Even her brother who normally is not interested in dolls in general, has tried all of the various gadgets before commenting “it’s really good”.  High praise indeed!

When her friends came over to play all three of them didn’t move out of her room all afternoon they were having so much fun – in fact, it ended up with them sleeping over!

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

Both my niece and nephew really enjoy playing with their various LEGO kits so I wasn’t surprised how excited they were when my nephew received the Heroica Castle Fortaan 3860 from my sister for his 8th birthday.  He couldn’t wait to get all the pieces out of the box and spread them over the floor.  As this is a game for 2-4 players even his little sister (aged 6) joined in with the fun. 

There are load of pieces which make up to an amazing eleven room layout.  Complete with monsters and heroes, with their own coded hero pack, the idea is to defeat the Goblin King who has taken over the Castle.  There are instructions but the kids couldn’t wait and just used their imagination.  Later when we did read the directions they discovered they were supposed to defeat the monsters once they had reached specific tiles.  There are lots of extra pieces of treasure chests, furniture and accessories which are all really well built. 

There are specific games which don’t take long to play – which is really good with kids of these ages, but as with all Lego sets it’s the various pieces which fire the kids’ imaginations and keep them amused for hours on end.  When my brother-in-law arrived home it was only a few minutes before he was on the floor with them!

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

Finding the right and best daycare for your children is extremely important.  You need to be confident about the experience of the adults who will be supervising the children all day.  You also need to feel comfortable about the way in which they deal with difficult situations.

The absolutely best way to find a good daycare provider is by personal recommendation.  Speak to someone whom you already know has had a child at that daycare centre and has been confident that the children have been looked after properly whilst in their care.  Knowing that they are provided with stimulating play during the day and with necessary nap times is important.

Once you have a recommendation, go and see the supervisor and ask if you can pop in a couple of times if you think of any questions.  If they are happy for you to call in without an appointment, that should also give you some confidence.  Whatever you do, ask for references, and they should be amenable to giving you several contact details for clients whose children are presently using their facilities.  Remember, once you’re there, they may then ask you to return the favor, which is only fair and reasonable.

The last way to choose a daycare provider is by looking at the cost.  Although every parent has a budget, the majority of providers will charge similar fees.  Don’t go to one who is a few pounds cheaper unless there is a reason for it.  If they haven’t been open very long and they want to build a reputation as a good centre, they may offer an introductory discount.

Whatever the reason for needing a daycare provider, take your time in making your choice.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

I have an eighteen month old nephew who loves to throw things about.  Juice cups get thrown across the room as well as anything else he can get his hands on.  As you can imagine, my sister-in-law often spend her time mopping up spills and picking up bits of food.  He thinks it is funny to throw things about. 

He does like to eat snacks like raisins and fruit.  However, my sister-in-law’s problem was that whenever he had had enough, he would just throw the container and the remaining snacks would be all over the floor.  Thankfully she found the Made for Mom Snack Trap which is just perfect for putting all his snacks into.  He can only get fingers in through the flapped lid so he cannot take more than a few at a time.  There is no way his whole fist will fit through the flaps so the amount he eats is regulated.

What my sister-in-law also loves about these snack containers is the fact that when he does throw the container from his high chair, the contents will not be strewn about the house.  The flapped lid keeps everything inside.  She no longer has to crawl about the floor picking up raisins or other food items.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

My sister stays in a small apartment with her husband and their seven month old baby.  They have a small kitchen and a living room cum dining room where they have a small table and chairs.  She wanted to find a high chair for her daughter which would fit comfortably in their apartment and which would store easily out of the way when it was not in use.  She found many options when it came to a foldable high chair but they were all quite bulky when in use.

Thankfully she came across the Inglesina 2011 Fast Table Chair which attaches to her dining table and then folds away when it is not being used.  This is one of the best products around for babies in her opinion.  It comes with its own storage bag and can be taken with them wherever they go.  It means that when my mother is looking after my niece she can just take this table chair with her.  It makes it so much easier for my Mom to feed her.  This is lightweight so they have taken it with them to restaurants and to friend’s houses too.  My niece loves being able to sit at the table with them.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

The way in which you interact with your child is key to keeping ‘talking back’ to a minimum.  If the parent responds by ‘talking back’ to the child, the problem is going to escalate.  If the parent remains calm, it will evoke calmness in the child.  It is much like a mirror.  Reaction and response to the child will in turn teach the child how he is supposed to react and respond.

Children want clear limits placed on them regardless of what come out of their mouths.  If the parent works diligently at praising the child when he behaves in an acceptable manner, it will reinforce good behavior.     Bottom line is that children learn by example.  If their parent can handle emotions by calmly explaining that they are feeling upset and need time to calm themselves in a controlled manner, then the child will learn to mirror that behavior in controlling their own anger. 

Action and reaction tells the whole story of how to help a child learn positive behavior and how to attract their parent’s attention without bringing out the arsenal of sharp and unkind words. Often the talking back is only a tool for trying to get a reaction out of the parent.  Who is going to take control and get the last word?   When your child talks back, it will often bring the whole negative conversation to a halt if you just offer to allow your child to have the final word and then remain silent.  

Listen to your child and allow him to explain his frustrations in a positive way instead of getting into a headstrong battle with him. There will be no positive outcome when this occurs.   Don’t worry if your child talks back to you as it is a very normal part of growing up.  It is how you handle the situation that will help remedy the impending power struggle. 

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

When my nephew was four months old he was suffering quite a bit with his teeth.  He constantly had his fist in his mouth and anything we handed to him was put to his gums instantly.  He was constantly drooling and his cheeks were bright red.  I found the Sassy Baby’s First Rattle and Teether 5 Piece Gift Set online and thought that this was the perfect solution to the problem.

Not only was I getting a teether which would help his sore gums, but I would also be getting a rattle at the same time.  To say I was delighted with this set is an understatement.  The five rattles/teethers are bright and colourful and he absolutely loved them at first sight.  The set comprises a circle rattle, phone rattle, smiley space face, butterfly teether and the goo goo goldfish.

These toys are small enough for my nephew’s little hands to grip them easily and the rattle is something that he loves.  They also provide relief to his gums which have been very sore.  In fact I loved this gift set so much that I have ordered another couple for friends of mine who are due their babies this year.  They will be delighted with them.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

I remember growing up and hearing numerous fairy stories from my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. We were always told bedtime stories and all my friends knew the same stories. It was the same with nursery rhymes. They were just something that everyone knew.

 So I was so surprised when I was speaking to my six year old niece and she had no idea about Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood. I questioned my brother about it but he said that they never read those stories to her. They had read her other stories from more modern books.

I felt that my niece was missing out by not learning these stories so I looked to see if I could find the stories that I had loved as a young child. I thought I would have to buy the books individually but was delighted when I came across Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know. This fantastic book contains twenty stories including many that I heard as a child as well as a few that I did not know.

My niece loves this book and every night my brother or sister in law will read her one of the stories. She loves to hear them over and over again and is as delighted by these books as many children were before her.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

My sister’s baby girl was teething pretty badly and my poor sister was not getting any sleep.  I could see how painful it was for my little niece because her cheeks were bright red, she was drooling a lot and she was very irritable. 

I decided to look for something that would give my niece some relief and which would help my sister get her sanity back.  I came across the Manhattan Toy Winkel which is a funky, toy for babies that acts as a rattle as well as a teething device. 

My sister put it in the refrigerator and my niece was more than happy when she gave her the toy Winkel to play with.  The bright colours were instantly appealing to her and she was chewing away to get some relief.  It kept her busy for quite some time.  Even now that my niece has passed the stage of teething, she still loves to play with this rattle.

We will often see her sitting with it while she watches the TV.  She is ten months old now but it is still a toy that she likes to shake and chew.  It was the perfect buy as it helped my sister get some peace.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

This Scooter is guaranteed to provide kids hours of fun and freedom, and mothers at least a few grey hairs. It is fun, modern, safe and fast. It has all the safety features that it should have, as well as excellent craftsmanship. The manufacturer has definitely gone the extra mile to make sure that the Razor A5 Lux Scooter is as safe as it can possibly be.

My nephew flies around the outside of the house and has now also been allowed to conquer the roads with his scooter. He literally lives on his scooter. When he was offered a skateboard for his last birthday, he emphatically denied, claiming that his scooter is ‘cooler’.

I have watched him do all sorts of death defying stunts with his scooter and I am convinced that it is the best gift that I could ever have given him. There is so much freedom in feeling the fine blow in your face when you are going faster that your mom would be comfortable with that the scooter is worth every single cent that you pay for it. This is a worthwhile investment for girls and boys who like moving around and who love speed.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

If you don’t know who Justin Bieber is, you probably don’t have tweens and teenagers in your house. This kid is phenomenal and already a mega superstar. Not only is he a hit as a singer, he’s now written a book about his rise to stardom. It is a fantastic book with insights into Justin as a ‘human being’, as well as his life as a superstar. It is bumper packed with photos of him and his show that he was working on while writing the book, as well as other exclusive photos.

The book is so great I had to buy a copy for each of my two nieces. They flatly refused to share and each also has her own Justin Bieber CD collection. My youngest niece has made a wall poster of the dust cover and carefully covered the book in lasting plastic.

All parents should have at least one Justin Bieber book in the house. Even the little ones enjoy the quirky tales, the interspersed tweets and other comments that Justin throws in and are thoroughly entertained by the beautiful pictures. Definitely a must-have for all teenage households.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

Family night is a night of fun, laughter and games. The five of us needed a new challenge, so we tried the new game, Five Crowns. It’s different to other games as it is played with a double deck and five suits (the fifth suit is Stars). There are no 2s or aces, so the game has to start with a hand of three cards, meaning that 3s are wild. Each succeeding hand adds a card and makes that card wild, e.g. four cards make 4s wild, five cards make 5s wild etc. The game ends when the Kings are wild.

Like Rummy you need to put out sets of cards and try to finish first. The rest of the players then get one chance to get rid of their cards.

The game is a lot of fun and requires a lot of strategic thinking. My nieces and nephew have learnt how to calculate the outcome of each move and are becoming masters at the game. Sadly my sister and I started well but we’re losing ground fast.

This game is for older kids (10 years and older), but could include younger ones by letting them count and referee. It is highly recommended for family entertainment.

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.